My NJROTC Experience by Hannah

My NJROTC Experience by Hannah - November 2019 Scholarship Essay

At my high school, we have a Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program in which all students are required to take part. Last spring, I was promoted to Battalion Supply Officer where I am currently responsible for purchasing, inventorying, issuing, and maintaining $1.1 million worth of government funded uniforms. I earned this position by moving up in the ranks since freshman year until I achieved the position of an officer and a department head with 23 staff members under me. To gain this position, I also had to undergo an interview with my three naval science instructors and last year’s battalion staff, speaking about why I am qualified for the job. I have always been an organized and big idea person. In a department where there is a constant need for revision and supervision, I knew that the tactical thinking and work oriented parts of me would help me excel as Supply Officer. In this position, I issue new uniforms and ribbons to cadets, inventory the numbers of uniforms in stock, log all of my work on a government website, establish weekly plans for the department and monitor and direct my staff on what tasks to complete. Recently, my unit has been preparing for an event called Annual Military Inspection, or AMI. For AMI, a representative of the Navy comes to our school and checks that the unit has been operating correctly and efficiently. My staff and I have been tirelessly preparing for this day since June of 2019 by organizing our stock, counting the numbers and sizes of uniforms, logging all of this information onto the website, issuing up to date uniforms and ribbons, and cleaning the buildings. Three days per week for the past four weeks, I have stayed after school for two to four hours to work on inventorying and organizing. Every day for a half hour, during my lunch hour, my staff and I work in the buildings on the previously stated activities. When I was first promoted to the position of Supply Officer, I was aware of the fact that the inventory numbers were all wrong as a result of past mistakes. Being confident in my organization and leadership skills, I accepted the challenge with open arms. After the past three months, I choose to think that I have made an impact on the battalion through my efforts to correct the problems in the supply department. I have corrected attendance problems that have been an issue for several years, rectified the inventory numbers of the $1.1 million worth of uniforms, and directed the operations and administration aspects of the supply department correctly and efficiently. Annual Military Inspection was on November 6th, 2019 and mine and my staff’s efforts did not go unseen. The inspecting officer had no complaints with the Supply Department. The success we achieved in Supply contributed to our battalion receiving the highest AMI grade given out by this Naval representative to similarly situated schools.